It is common to carry accessories such as toolboxes and other containers, weights for ballast, and the like in truck boxes. These accessories are preferably secured in the box to prevent shifting during travel, and remain in the truck box for extended periods of time in a semi-permanent fashion. Shifting can damage the article, other contents in the box, or the truck box itself.
Similarly a wide array of cargo is temporarily carried in truck boxes, from groceries to snowmobiles to machine parts. The more permanent accessories such as ballast, toolboxes, and the like often interfere with loading the cargo. These accessories generally are not readily removable once installed in a secure fashion.
Several prior art patents have been directed to the problem of providing a ballast system for truck boxes that does not shift during travel, and provides minimal interference with loading cargo. See for instance U.S. Pat. No. 4,902,038 to Grover, U.S. Pat. No. 4,971,356 to Cook, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,330,227 to Anderson.
These ballast systems provide a relatively thin layer of weights or ballast elements over substantially the whole floor of the truck box, leaving a relatively unhindered load surface. The volume capacity of the truck box is thus only minimally affected. Where heavy cargo is carried on occasion, the ballast may have to be removed in order to stay within the weight capacity of the truck. This removal and subsequent replacement is generally problematic with prior art systems.
These systems as well do not provide for secure attachment of other common accessories such as toolboxes.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a secure accessory system for truck boxes such that ballast, toolboxes and like accessories are prevented from shifting, and yet can readily be removed if required.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a system that provides ballast for the truck with minimal interference to the volume capacity of the box.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such a system that can provide dividers in the box to limit shifting of cargo to short distances, thereby reducing possible damage.
The present invention provides in one aspect a system for securing accessories in a truck box having a floor. The system comprises right and left anchor beams adapted to be fastened to respective right and left edges of the floor such that inner faces of the anchor beams face each other across an inner floor area. An anchor lip extends from each inner face along a portion of a length of the inner face. An accessory has right and left edges comprising an under lip adapted to fit slidingly under the anchor lip of a corresponding anchor member. At least one lock is operative to lock the accessory in a substantially fixed position along the length of the floor.
The invention provides in a second aspect a system for securing accessories in a truck box having a floor. The system comprises right and left anchor beams fastened to respective right and left edges of the floor such that inner faces of the anchor beams face each other across an inner floor area. An accessory has right and left edges. Means are provided to engage each anchor beam with a corresponding edge of the accessory such that the edges can slide between the anchor beams but are prevented from moving vertically or laterally right or left. Means are provided to lock the accessory into a desired fore and aft location along a length of the anchor beams.
The lock could comprise a series of lock elements anchored in like manner to the accessories. These could be placed in front of and behind the accessory to position the accessory in the proper fore and aft position in the truck box and fill the inner floor surface such that when the tail-gate of the box is raised, the lock members are maintained in position. Alternately pins, screws, clamps or the like could act as locks.
The accessories could be flat ballast accessories providing a level cargo carrying surface on their top faces. Such ballast accessories could act as lock members. Properly configured toolboxes or other containers could be similarly anchored. A fence could be provided across the width or length of the box to divide same into smaller areas to limit shifting of cargo. Almost any accessory that could be useful if secured in a truck box could be conveniently anchored.
Accessories anchored by the system could be quickly removed by removing the lock and sliding the accessories out the rear of the box. Where the anchor and under lips were intermittent, rather than continuous, the accessory could be installed at a mid-point of the anchor beams and moved forward or rearward to engage the anchor beams.